9/11 Unity in 2021

Unity. And 9/11. It’s a theme the media and politicians nostalgically lean on each year around this time.

“Unity” refers to oneness…or a condition of harmony, according to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary.

In September 2001, there were two kinds of unity that arose. A negative unity arose from sharing the most undesirable human sentiments: terror and vulnerability, confusion and helplessness. And grief. 2,977 different versions of the American Dream murdered by foreign actors on an unfathomable scale. This is not a unity I ever wish to revisit.

There was also, however, in the days and weeks after 9/11, a groundswell of positive unity. Heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifices of others. New Yorkers beheld firefighters and police with unmitigated awe. Empathy for the gut-wrenching loss others were suffering because every New Yorker knew that, but for the grace of God, it could have been them.

Recognized mutual dependence. Friends and neighbors emerged from their sanctuaries of home to walk together along the disorienting dark, silent streets of Manhattan. New Yorkers clamored to support Ground Zero operations with whatever expertise they could volunteer.

We saw sympathy on a national scale. Midwest. Rocky Mountain. Sun Belt. Pacific Coast. Without a grasp of what we were going through, Americans from all over directed their deepest condolences to those of us in New York City, Washington DC, Shanksville PA and any place else touched by the unspeakable tragedy.

We saw common purpose to respect and remember. Makeshift memorials sprang up throughout the city. Every bagpipe-accompanied service was treated with the most profound solemnity. 41,000 fans infused Shea Stadium with a palpable silence prior to the city’s first post-9/11 sporting event.

Unity wasn’t a state of existence. Unity was an act of understanding other Americans’ feelings. Imagining others’ feelings. Or understanding that we don’t understand others’ feelings.

There is noticeably less of that in America these days. Whether urban, suburb or rural. Whether red, blue or purple. Whether GED, BS, MBA, JD, MD or PhD.

But that’s okay for now. In these primeval days of the digital revolution, we are each discovering the power of our voice. As the yips and yowls of any child in an empty tunnel will attest, it is human nature for each of us to want to hear how loud we can yell…and to hope that what echoes back is exactly what we uttered.

But the unity of America will return as we work past this stage. Consequently, I have been asking myself, what would the positive unity of 2001 look like if it were manifest in 2021?

• We would celebrate the shared greatness of America while simultaneously tackling its historical transgressions.
• We would recognize that, while our “City Upon a Hill” may be impregnable to foreign enemies, those same enemies can bring us down from within by sowing toxic seeds of irreconcilable division.
• We would ask the same question demanded by traumatic public mayhem, whether it be in the city streets or in the Capitol: what troubles could be so intractable for fellow Americans that they’d resort to such violence?
• We would be consistently respectful of and grateful for the essential contributions first responders make to the well-being of our nation while also insisting they hold themselves accountable for misdeeds.
• We would understand that each of us is replete with imperfections and inconsistencies, blind spots and moral compromises.
• We would intuit that cities of millions will experience and perceive a global pandemic…or, for that matter, any issue…vastly different than rural communities of hundreds.
• We would stop treating social media like harmless over-the-fence chit-chat and start treating it with the responsibility it warrants as a powerful and potentially dangerous contributor to public discourse.
• We would perceive fellow Americans not through the divisive issues that media and politicians want but through the acts of goodwill previously experienced…through our common humanity…through our shared desires for shelter, food, happiness and purpose.
• We would lean on the notion of “common good” not just when it serves our needs, but when it serves other’s needs…and, indeed, when it may hurt our own.
• We would know that the success, comfort and opportunity which some of us enjoy is lacking for far too many fellow Americans…and we would tirelessly commit to rectifying that imbalance.
• We would work together to improve the circumstances of all fellow Americans, not perpetuate insidious lies and half-truths…not spread exaggerations, one-sided arguments and unceasing anxiety…not discourage earnest pursuit of truth and justice.
• We would remind ourselves that — because we share a land, a history, a society and an infrastructure — we must extend to fellow Americans of every type our foremost respect, curiosity, sympathy, empathy and allegiance.
• We would see each other as Americans, together, struggling to create our birthright: a more perfect union.

We do not have the luxury to wait for the right politician…or the most motivational figure…or the most ideal influencer…to rally us. We can not defer action to the next generation.

The time is now for the millions upon millions of good Americans, as the foundations of our democracy…and which comprise a large majority of our nation… to strive for unity.

[image from www.heraldnet.com]